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Telling stories, putting them out there’ Artist finds freedom in her comics
by M. Scott Morris/NEMS Daily Journal

When she’s fully into a project, Mary Katherine Spencer said it’s not uncommon to look up from her work and say, “Whoa, yeah. It’s 3 in the morning.” (THOMAS WELLS | DAILY JOURNAL)

There was a moment in time when Tupelo artist William Heard thought he was going to become a super hero.

He was extremely close to getting machine guns attached to his wheelchair.

“So I could fight evildoers,” the 37-year-old said.

But it was not to be.

Instead, comic book artist Mary Katherine Spencer decided to take Heard’s story in a more honest, though still imaginative, direction.

“We decided to do it as a documentary,” Heard said. “I thought it was cool for someone to want to write about me like that.”

Spencer moved to Northeast Mississippi in 2006, and she’s slowly merged into the region’s art scene. For her, comics are a passion and a release. They’re also important.

“People need to have their stories told,” she said. “People need to hear other people’s stories, and people need to have access to them.”

Spencer, 42, grew up in suburban Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Md. She was making a life for herself in Arizona when she had a strange conversation with her parents.

“They did this thing,” she said. “I called them and they said, ‘Guess what we did?’ I said, ‘You went on a cruise?’ They said, ‘We moved to Mississippi.’”

When her dad ended up in North Mississippi Medical Center, Spencer did some serious thinking. She sold her place in Arizona, and bought a relatively isolated house near Geeville.

“Technically, it’s a Booneville address,” she said, “but when my friends ask where I live, I love saying, ‘Geeville, Mississippi.’”

‘Get it out’

Initially, she worked at the Boys & Girls Club of North Mississippi, Inc., and later joined the staff at S.A.F.E., Inc., where she regularly dealt with abused women in crisis situations.

It was deep stuff, and Spencer needed a way to process it. She’d quit drinking and smoking before her children, Cian, 12, and Millie, 4, were born, so those vices couldn’t help (or hurt, as the case may be).

Comics flew to the rescue.

“That’s always been my pressure release,” she said. “I would draw little comics, just to get it out.”

She encouraged others to “get it out” with a project called “Jeans for Justice.” She asked people to write their stories of abuse on blue jeans. Some also added artistic flourishes, and Spencer took the results on the road for different displays.

“I’m here to discuss and talk about subjects that people put away and don’t talk about normally,” she said.

Spencer no longer works with S.A.F.E., but she made strong connections with other artists during the Jeans for Justice project.

“She came to Our Artworks,” Heard said. “Some of us worked on the jeans project with her.”

Heard discovered his artistic talent after a car accident left him paralyzed. He later started Our Artworks to get other people with disabilities interested in art.

His story captivated Spencer, and Heard almost got a flying wheelchair with machine guns. The pair met at coffee shops, and exchanged emails and Facebook messages to discuss the project.

Spencer came up with the idea of using Heard’s own paintings as backdrops for her comics. She’s working toward a May deadline to get the book and other work ready for an exhibit in Arizona.

“She has a very active imagination,” Heard said. “She comes up with different stuff, tries it and it works.”

Spencer also is collaborating with Terae, a 56-year-old Tupelo-based writer who prefers to use her pen name. The story is about two girls who face different types of prejudice.

“I looked at some sketches she did and I asked if she could do some illustrations. She started doing them and it was perfect,” Terae said. “If I had done them, they wouldn’t have looked right to me.”

Adult themes

Spencer regularly explores tough topics with her comics. One of her stories is based on a friend’s sexual addiction. She said she turned the lead character into a fish, so it “wouldn’t be gross and disgusting. A fish can do these things and it’s OK.”

A question from her kids led Spencer to consider how bullying has impacted her life, and she used printer’s ink to turn those thoughts into pages.

Another long-running project was inspired by her dog, Henry Miller, who was rescued from the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society. She illustrated the story of how she met Henry. Friends liked the resulting comic panel, so she started soliciting pet stories from other people and drawing those.

“Everybody has a pet story,” Spencer said. “How they got their cat and how they got their dog – it gives them something good to think about.”

Spencer’s art is a busy “pressure release.” The comics pile up on the big desk in her living room. You can see some of her creations at www.horseradishhen.com and www.fingerproofpress.com.

“When you do this kind of work, it’s like, ‘Whoa, yeah. It’s 3 in the morning,’” she said. “If you can do something that makes someone feel better and makes them love it, that’s great, right? It’s telling stories and putting them out there.”

Spencer solicits stories about how people connected with their pets, then she turns those stories into comics. (THOMAS WELLS | DAILY JOURNAL)

scott.morris@journalinc.com

Click here to go to Kevin Orr’s BLOG “From Walking to Rolling and Everything In Between

Call for Submissions!

Fingerproof Press is currently looking for writers, authors, artists and illustrators to contribute to the the project “I Just Knew She Was Mine: A Pet-Thology.” Stories and art works will focus on how people came to live with the pets they love. All profits from this comic book will be donated to the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society which is in dire need of many things related to the care and housing of homeless pets in northeast Mississippi.

Deadline: March 31, 2011

Please send inquiries to editor@fingerproof press.com

A couple of months ago I sent out a message asking for stories about how people met their pets. This is the first in a series of illustrations that Fingerproof Press will publish to benefit our local Humane Society. Story by Margaret Southwell.

Click Here to get "Vowel" for your Kindle!

Horseradish Hen & Etiak Yeof

are now a part

of Fingerproof Press!

Get your copy of

“vowel, with appologies to gindberg”

for Kindle today.

If you don’t have a Kindle,

you can download one

to your MAC,iPAD

or PC for free.

Go here for more details.

… click here to read this comic

Hey, guess what?!

I’ve had three poems accepted by Very Bad Poetry!

Horseradish Hen

A SHORT HISTORY

Since joining on 30/11/99, Horseradish has published 3 works. The Very Bad Staff scoffed at Horseradish’s entry named Mississippi Life, but we straightened up when Horseradish delivered a new low in poetry with To breathe in is called inhalation or inspiration, a fascinating and eloquently worded jaunt into the world of online gambling. This poet really sucks.

So, I got this message from lulu.com,the company that makes the print edition of my books, telling me “When I Was In 6th Grade” has been selected as a “BEACH READ”. This means that for a limited time you can get the print edition for a 15% discount.

I guess when I think about it, I CAN imagine laying on a towel at the ocean enjoying the big pictures and large funny text, and hey, there’s even an octopus! If you can imagine this being a reality for you then it’s the perfect time to get your copy.

Purchase this great title…
GET 15% OFF
Enter coupon code: BEACHREAD305

When I Was In 6th Grade
http://www.lulu.com/product/11259618?cid=071810_en_email_BEACHREAD305

———————————————————————

Disclaimer: Use coupon code BEACHREAD305 at checkout and receive 15%
off When I Was In 6th Grade. Maximum savings with this promotion is $10.
You can only use the code once per account, and you can’t use this
coupon in combination with other coupon codes. This great offer ends
on August 15, 2010 at 11:59 PM so try not to procrastinate! While
very unlikely we do reserve the right to change or revoke this offer
at anytime, and of course we cannot offer this coupon where it is
against the law to do so.

Copyright © 2002-2010 Lulu, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Go to Amazon.com

Well, I was wondering why it was impossible to find this comic book on Amazon.com & I found out why today. Due to a clerical error (probably on my part) the “Hen” was left out of my name, leaving me as a lone “Horseradish”. I’m thinking they will eventually fix that, but in the mean time here is When I Was In 6th Grade all printed up and stuff.  It’s also really expensive, so I do recommend that you get a free download at http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=21821488. I don’t mind of you print it out and staple it together.

Due to the nature of on-demand printing (which is really cool) if you do order it from lulu or amazon I still only make about a dollar. The bulk of the cost is for custom creating something that you want without wasting a bunch of paper and ink printing up 1000s copies that other people might not want.

http://ringm.livejournal.com/73042.html

Click here to download this comic!

Wow, well, I am really delighted by all of the positive responses to the comic

“When I Was In The 6th Grade”.     Thank you all so much!

I went ahead and made it available as print version on lulu.com.

It’s expensive, I know, but it is also available as a download for FREE, so download it and staple it together if you want.

That’s what I would do!

Click here !

CLICK HERE

15$ for a comic IS steep, I realize that, so now you can get Horseradish Hen, the Comic, Volume 2 as a free download!

Click the image above & download for free!

It’s Towel Day!

So I entered this contest. I started a new series of comics about life in royral amerrca. If you cartoon and want to enter, follow this link. Deadline is June 4th 5 PM EST.

Source: Prentiss County, Mississippi: History and Families

http://nems360.com/blog/6672890/Horseradish+Hen

Click here to go to the store!

$15.00

Ships in 3–5 business days

The second comic book from Horseradish Hen features the poem “vowel: with appologies to ginsberg” by Etiak Yelof as well as other illustrated ideas. Contributors include Brandon Huigens, Michael Carrier,John Vashon & G. Holyspotweld. There is also a crossword puzzle.

http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/horseradish-hen-the-comic-volume-2/7919767

Our first review on Amazon.com!

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1C9KKPJARY8BP/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

I will be pulling the first edition of HH the Comic volume 1 and replacing it on December 1st. The new edition will have a frontpage & an about the author/illustrator page. Same great price!